I'll fail Acker on defense, giving Delfino the benefit of the doubt because he has been defending NBA talent, but Acker is a great ballhandler, can shoot with range, can post up and hit the turnaround jay, finish at the rim and rebound like a mother.

We won't even bring up that Alex is a 90%er. By that I mean, in college and in Europe, he plays upwards of 90% of the minutes at his position.

Delf will "wow" you every couple games with a nice move or excellent finish, but Acker all around is a superior scorer and without looking like a ballhog.

I guess it depends on what your definition of an athlete is. If it is speed, durability, body control and vertical, I can't see this being less than a tie.

I'll fail Acker on defense, giving Delfino the benefit of the doubt because he has been defending NBA talent, but Acker is a great ballhandler, can shoot with range, can post up and hit the turnaround jay, finish at the rim and rebound like a mother.

We won't even bring up that Alex is a 90%er. By that I mean, in college and in Europe, he plays upwards of 90% of the minutes at his position.

Delf will "wow" you every couple games with a nice move or excellent finish, but Acker all around is a superior scorer and without looking like a ballhog.

I guess it depends on what your definition of an athlete is. If it is speed, durability, body control and vertical, I can't see this being less than a tie.

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I guess I'm talking about them both as prospects, before Delfino did his knee.

Acker lacks lateral quickness, not good when he'll be checking 1's and 2's. If he was a good enough athlete he'd be on the roster instead of Flip Jr.

I watched that "Acker tracker "clip and saw nothing really 'above the rim' and saw a lot of stuff nearly blocked which would have resulted in SPALDING across the front of his face in the league.

The only reason Alex is not on the roster (IMO) is because he got more (guaranteed) money and minutes in Europe. Also, he's a 2, not a 1 and we wanted PG depth, which the Pistons claim to be convinced Flip Murray can provide.

Remember that those highlight clips were only 1 game per video. If you take any guy on the Pistons, it is hard to turn 1 game into a highlight video for them. It usually takes a whole season.

The best one is the R2 video I think. It shows his shooting, his ability to push the ball on the break, his rebounding, his lateral quickness (taking a great charge on the baseline), and his general intensity.

Although he's not a point guard, he has a lot more 1 in him than Rip does.

Remember that those highlight clips were only 1 game per video. If you take any guy on the Pistons, it is hard to turn 1 game into a highlight video for them. It usually takes a whole season.

The best one is the R2 video I think. It shows his shooting, his ability to push the ball on the break, his rebounding, his lateral quickness (taking a great charge on the baseline), and his general intensity.

Although he's not a point guard, he has a lot more 1 in him than Rip does.

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If Lindsey and Murray don't come back, there will be a place for both Acker and a rookie point guard, let's say Acie Law. Against weaker defensive point guards, you would bring in Acker to attack him, and when you wanted to protect the ball better, get others involved, and key a defensive run, bring in the other to spell Billups, who, btw, hasn't quite yet been re-signed.

If Lindsey and Murray don't come back, there will be a place for both Acker and a rookie point guard, let's say Acie Law. Against weaker defensive point guards, you would bring in Acker to attack him, and when you wanted to protect the ball better, get others involved, and key a defensive run, bring in the other to spell Billups, who, btw, hasn't quite yet been re-signed.

The only reason Alex is not on the roster (IMO) is because he got more (guaranteed) money and minutes in Europe. Also, he's a 2, not a 1 and we wanted PG depth, which the Pistons claim to be convinced Flip Murray can provide.

Weaknesses The number one area where you would like to see Acker improve is in his intensity level. He tends to coast for stretches, getting by on his talent and athleticism and not always looking like he is giving 100%. He has a laid back demeanor to his game, but this is not going to cut it at the next level.

This isn't a Chris Taft type deal, as his production is quite good, he just doesn't take advantage of his terrific skills as much as he could.

Where this is most noticeable is on the defensive end of the ball. Acker is a poor defender right now; his lateral movement is poor, and he regularly gets torched on the perimeter by players that are much less skilled and gifted athletically than him. Sometimes it looks like he's actually trying to play defense, but really doesn't know how to, he just kind of bounces around aimlessly and doesn't move his feet well at all.

Acker has a narrow frame and could stand to become a stronger player, but as a PG in the NBA this might not be a huge concern. Where this hurts him most is finishing around the rim right now, as he appears to lack the strength to get to the basket and finish in traffic.

Related to that is the fact that Acker doesn't put the ball on the floor and slash to the basket nearly as much as he should at this level. He shoots a fantastic percentage from the line (86%) but only gets to the line a little over 3 times per game, which is unacceptable considering the conference he plays in, the minutes he gets, and the fact that his team just needs him to do that to win games. Adding a consistent pull-up mid-range jumper to his arsenal would not hurt either.

In general, Acker is not the most polished 22 year old player you'll find. He needs to round out his game, keep improving his range and just get better at all the little things, especially taking more on himself offensively. He appears to be content on being a role player, not demanding the ball when his team needs him the most, and the fact that his team only went 6-8 in the WCC (despite having him and a 20 ppg scoring college beast in Glen McGowan) and has generally underachieved in his 3 years at Pepperdine so far does not bode well for him.

Euroleague: Who`s Hot?December 21, 2006 It didn’t take long for Alex Acker to adjust to the Euroleague. In his debut, Acker was spectacular, delivering 25 points and 13 rebounds in a win against heavy favorites for the Final Four, Tau Ceramica. Although that remains his best game of the season, Alex continued with consistent production for Olympiacos and is one of most impressive players in the competition up to date.

Acker is a smooth athlete, possessing a quick first step, good body control, solid leaping ability and long arms which enable him to play bigger then his size. His rebounding average is ridiculous for someone who projects as a point guard at the NBA level.

Speaking of the point guard position, Alex doesn’t get many chances at running the Greek offense with Scoonie Penn manning that spot, but he has been able to showcase his steady ball-handling and passing ability. Acker is more of a Point Forward than anything in Europe, while he lacks some size to play that kind of position in the NBA.

Acker’s biggest weakness is defense, where he gets beaten off the dribble on quite a few occasions. That has probably been the reason why he didn’t get much burn in his first stint with Pistons. Alex, who is a combo guard by NBA standards, is quite a talented player, but he still seems to have great upside to fulfill despite being 23 years old. Detroit still hold his rights, and while he will probably return to the NBA at some point, another season of fine-tuning in Europe could do only well for him. He should become a very dependable NBA rotational player down the road.

I think that Acker will be a fine reserve 2 in the L. I don't think that he has the upside of Delfino. I believe that Delfino would probably be getting 17-18 points a game, in addition to his solid all around play, if you started him and played him 38 minutes.

As for that #15, I want Javaris Crittenton. That kid could be another Gary Payton, if he had the right mentor. Say... someone who's name rhymes with Chauncey.

I hope we draft at least one white guy in the draft. I swear the Pistons only white player is Carlos Delfino. I wonder if we have the least amount of white players of any NBA team. I'm not being racist against black players at all. They're amazing players, but it would be nice to get some diversity once in a while.

The only diversity we need is guys who can shoot the bomb, guys who can take it to the hole, guys who can post up and hit that turnaround Budda J, guys who can play clamp-down D, guys who can play perimeter D, guys who can patrol the paint, etc. That's the kind of diversity we need.

I hope we draft at least one white guy in the draft. I swear the Pistons only white player is Carlos Delfino. I wonder if we have the least amount of white players of any NBA team. I'm not being racist against black players at all. They're amazing players, but it would be nice to get some diversity once in a while.

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I used to get in arguments in the other forum with people about this. I figured anybody who was an NBA fan couldn't care less about the color of the player. Some folks (the late LA Sam for one) said that part of drafting Darko was because his pale skin would be a marketing hook for fans.

Seems ridiculous to me that anyone would care about anything other than the skill and psychological soundness of a player.

I used to get in arguments in the other forum with people about this. I figured anybody who was an NBA fan couldn't care less about the color of the player. Some folks (the late LA Sam for one) said that part of drafting Darko was because his pale skin would be a marketing hook for fans.

Seems ridiculous to me that anyone would care about anything other than the skill and psychological soundness of a player.

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In defense of LA Sam, (he's not really late is he?) I don't think he actually believed the theory's merits as much as he was wracking his brain trying to figure out why Joe passed on Wade, Carmelo, and Bosh.